1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to delta-sigma modulators/converters, and more specifically, to calibration of a delta-sigma modulator to adjust the modulator's noise transfer function.
2. Background of the Invention
Delta-sigma modulators are in widespread use in analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs), in which they provide very linear behavior and simple implementation due to the reduced number of bits used in the analog signal comparison. Delta-sigma modulators can be implemented with a high level of control of the frequency distribution of “quantization noise”, which is the difference between the ideal output value of the modulator as determined by the input signal and the actual output of the modulator provided by a quantizer. Feedback applied from the output of the quantizer through the loop filter of the converter continuously attempts to force the quantization error of the modulator to zero. The “quantization noise” is the AC result of this process (i.e., the components of the quantization error having a frequency greater than zero).
The frequency distribution of the above-described “quantization noise” can be modeled as a noise transfer function (NTF) response to a unit white noise source, although in actuality the source of the “quantization noise” is not noise, and the NTF is somewhat signal-dependent as well as being inherently dependent on the order of the delta-sigma converter and the converter coefficients.
The NTF can be adjusted advantageously to a desirable shape by the design of the loop filter, including the selection of feedback coefficients applied to the various stages of the loop filter from the output of the quantizer. For example, in most ADC and DAC applications, the NTF is shaped to shift the energy of the quantization noise to a high frequency, typically at least twice the sample frequency, so that a subsequent digital filter can be applied to remove the quantization noise without aliasing the quantization noise back to the frequency band of interest. Very sophisticated design techniques including high-order loop filters can be employed to tune the NTF to achieve very high linearity and low actual quantization error after filtering.
However, in continuous-time loop filter delta-sigma modulators, the tuning of the loop filter is dependent on circuit parameters, such as resistor and capacitor values for traditional analog integrators, or capacitor ratios in switched-capacitor implementations. In such applications, the NTF can vary substantially from device to device and over temperature, in large part due to the gains of internal stages of the loop filter, which alter the integrator constants.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a calibration method and apparatus for delta-sigma modulation in which the noise transfer function can be measured and the noise transfer function response adjusted. It would further be desirable to provide such a method and apparatus that can perform such measurements and adjustments in a mode of operation as close to actual operation as possible.